


Ívarr hinn Beinlausi

by Trash_Baby



Category: Vikings (TV)
Genre: F/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Shieldmaidens
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-10-22
Updated: 2017-10-23
Packaged: 2019-01-21 15:24:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 2
Words: 2,411
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12460551
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Trash_Baby/pseuds/Trash_Baby
Summary: The half-sister of Margrethe and a fierce shieldmaiden, Oda travels to Kattegat at the news of both her sister's marriage and the gathering of warriors for the Great Heathen Army.(Title and summary may change, but basically I wanted to write something with Ivar. Hell yeah there'll probably be some smut at some point)





	1. Chapter 1

Seven years had passed since Oda had last seen her sister, a fact that she did not know how to feel about.

The two shared the same father, though their mothers had been as opposite as night and day, and so Oda and her sister had grown to be the same. Whilst her sister's mother had been a slave, with hair as light as the sun itself, Oda's mother was a shieldmaiden, fierce and deadly with hair like the night. Oda's sister had been conceived not even three months earlier than herself, and so they were brought up together, and even when Oda began her training as a shieldmaiden and her sister took up the tasks of a slave, they remained close. 

When her sister had been taken away to another city to work for another earl, Oda was forced to strengthen herself, to commit to the duties of a shieldmaiden. With each summer that passed, her earl denied her the chance to go on raids, even when she surpassed all expectations and fought to make a name for herself. But when the message  from Kattegat reached them, that the sons of Ragnar were building a great army, she snatched at the chance to prove herself, and Oda found herself on a ship bound for Kattegat. 

But it was not just the promise of the great army that Oda had heard, but the news that one of Ragnar's sons was to marry to a free woman who was once a slave. A woman by the name of Margrethe.

Oda's sister.

 

When their ship reached the port of Kattegat, Oda was eager to seek out Margrethe, desperate to find out if the now-free woman was in fact her half-sister. Leaving her belongings on the ship, Oda stepped onto the boardwalk with intent in her strides, her sword in its scabbard striking the side of her thigh with each step. As she walked, Oda realized that she did not actually know where the woman that may be her sister actually was, though she theorized that the great hall would be a good place to start. 

The entrance was guarded by two shieldmaidens, and when she queried about looking for a former slave, they redirected her to seeking out the Queen. All of Oda's focus had been taken up by the hope and agitation of perhaps reuniting with her sister for the duration of her trip, and so she had barely had the time to dwell on the fact that the new Queen was the infamous Lagertha, shieldmaiden and first wife to Ragnar Lothbrok.

Hair so blonde it is almost white causes Oda's sure footsteps to stutter to a halt, and she watches with keen eyes as the figure turns to the side, allowing her a glimpse of their face. The unturned nose and pale blue eyes are immediately familiar despite the years that had separated them, and Oda finds herself hurrying forward before Margrethe can disappear into the crowd. 

"Margrethe!" Oda calls, voice high with hope and dark eyes wide. She reaches a hand out, and the blonde girl twists around at the call of her name, eyes both fearful and curious. "Margrethe!"

Their eyes lock several feet apart, glacier blue with onyx black, and she gasps sharply as Oda exhales in relief. "Oda..?"

"Yes, yes! It is me!" Oda exclaimed, a childish grin lighting up her face as she picked up her pace, feet slapping the ground. Her arms wrap around the lithe woman before she can slow, and the pair stumble back as Oda laughs gleefully. "Margrethe, I have missed you so much!"

From behind, someone clears their throat, the sound rough and low and impatient. Margrethe tenses, and Oda draws back slowly to glance over her shoulder, both irritated at her reunion with her sister being interrupted and curious as to who would do so. 

"Yes?" She asks, one slanting dark brow lifting in question at the man that stood behind her. Margrethe draws a shaky breath, and Oda turns back to stare at her wide-eyed sister before turning around fully to face the newcomer. "And you are?"

"Ubbe, son of Ragnar Lothbrok and future husband to the woman you were just hugging." He says shortly, tense arms folded over his broad chest.

"Ah! So it is true!" Oda cried, her steely gaze melting away to a cheery grin. "I must congratulate you both!"

Ubbe's expression gives way to the confusion that flits across his face before he schools his features back. "Who are you?"

"Hm, I am Oda, Margrethe's sister."

"Her sister?" He echoes, eyes widening in shock before narrowing with doubt. Piercing blue eyes slide from the timid Margrethe - pale-haired, pale-eyed, pale-skinned - to Oda's confident stance - hair the color a raven's wing, eyes so dark that the iris melted into the pupil, and skin like a full moon so pale it seemed to reflect the cloud-cloaked sun - and snorted. "Really?"

"It is true," Margrethe steps in, shuffling to stand at your side. Her eyes dart from Oda to Ubbe's face, before falling to the ground. "We have the same father. My mother was a slave, and Oda's mother was a shieldmaiden."

"It is true," Oda tacks on, mimicking Margrethe's earlier confirmation with a thoughtful nod. Her hair shifts with the action, dark waves and intertwined braids falling over her shoulder to skim her hips. "We were brought up very differently, but we are close and love each other dearly, which is why I came all this way to see if the rumors of the son of Ragnar marrying a woman by the name of Margrethe were true." She pauses, the hand propped on her waist dropping to stroke the hilt of her sword, and a devious smirk twists her lips as she meets the prince's eye. "Well, that and to join this great army."

Ubbe nods slowly in acceptance of the explanation, his arms dropping from his chest. "The army will be discussed when more ships arrive, you are one of the first. Now, if you don't mind, I would like to talk with my future wife."

Grinning, Oda turns to her sister and winks. "Of course, I will see you soon, Margrethe. I hope I am invited to the wedding."

"Of course," She murmurs back fondly, reaching out to place a hand on Oda's shoulder and squeezing softly before letting go. "I will see you soon, sister."


	2. Chapter 2

Ubbe watched the young shieldmaiden leave with vivid interest, hands propped on his hips and as he twisted his body to follow her before turning back to Margrethe with raised eyebrows. "You did not tell me that you had a sister."

"It was never important," She murmured quietly, her eyes slipping past Ubbe's curious face to over his shoulder, where she caught the last glimpse of dark hair before Oda disappeared into the crowd. "I thought I would never see her again."

"Well, now you have seen her again. Tell me about her."

"Why?" Margrethe whispered. "Why do you want to know about Oda?"

"Because," Ubbe began, head tilting as he studied the expression on her face, "I am curious."

"She is not what she seems..." Margrethe started, glancing about uncertainly. "She is not someone to be underestimated - people have always seen Oda as small and pretty, but she is strong and she is smart. She has the skill and fierce protectiveness of her mother and the scheming and violence of her father. Even when we were children... Oda has killed in my name. She killed a full-grown man to protect me, and she was only seven..."

Ubbe hummed, brows raised and eyes wide at her words, and he glanced back over his shoulder as if instinctively in search of the new shieldmaiden. Instead, his eyes catch sight of Hvitserk, the younger Ragnarsson striding towards him, and Ubbe's face twitches up into a smile. Reaching out, Ubbe's hand came down on Hvitserk's shoulder, and he squeezed in greeting. "Brother, it would seem that Margrethe...has a sister."

 

Oda was not ignorant enough to fool herself into thinking that Ubbe and Margrethe was talking about anything else besides her, could feel his cerulean eyes boring into her back as she weaved through the crowd to rejoin her raiding party now that her curiosity had been sated. Her dark eyes slipped over the crowd as she walked, intrigued by the bustling port of Kattegat, the town that she knew to be the home of the Ragnarssons, and now the home of Oda's sister.

Back at her ship, Oda gathered her belongings - a shield, a pair of hatchets, and a trio of knives among other things - before hunting down the group that she had come along with. She found them easily enough, a swarm of battle-hardened warriors who stood out from the traders, and she tacked on to the end, trailing after them as they searched for the great hall. This time, the shieldmaidens that guarded the doors parted, and the party eagerly slipped into the shelter of the hall, all of them itching to feast and raid and complete all the other activities they had talked of on their voyage. 

Oda herself could feel the itch of excitement at the prospect of the promised battle, and she grinned along with the men and women, though she did not join in on their conversation. Instead, she studied the great hall, the shieldmaidens and warriors that guarded the corners of the room, the tapestries that hung, the elaborate throne, the worn floor. Her eyes caught sight of a trail of indents in the thick wooden floor, the notches like a path of footsteps, and Oda tilted her head in curiosity as she examined the damage, noted that it started at the door before getting lost beneath the feet of warriors, and she wondered what had done such damage.

The entrance of a woman cut off Oda's thoughts, and it didn't take much for her to realize that this was Queen Lagartha, dressed in a fine gown and elaborately decorated leather armor. An owl sat on her shoulder, and she was flanked by two shieldmaidens, one with pale blonde braids and the other with hair almost as Oda's own. At the edge of the party, Oda stood half-hidden behind a hulking Viking who was over a foot taller than her. He shielded her from the view of the newcomers, and she freely stared at them, her eyes drinking in the sight of the infamous shieldmaiden as she walked through the parting crowd towards the throne.

"Welcome," Lagartha called once she was seated, the ghost of a smile on her lips. "You are among the first to join our great army that we have gathered to avenge the death of Ragnar Lothbrok." A wave of shouts rose up at the mention of the late King, and Oda joined in for a short moment, eyes fixed on the Queen as she continued to speak. A feast was to be prepared for their arrival, and some slaves were instructed to show them to where they were to stay, whilst others scurried away to the kitchens, some to bring mead and others to make a start on the feast.

 

Oda had wandered about the market for the rest of the day, avoiding people, before she had returned to the great hall at the first signs of dusk. Having shed her belongings and exchanging her warm armor for a dress, Oda had taken the cup of mead offered to her before turning to linger by the door. She watched each person that entered, not paying attention to the jubilant crowd behind her, and waited patiently, hoping to see her sister again.  

She did not have to wait long, surging up from where she perched on the end of a bench to slip between the crowds and meet Margrethe. She was alone, and Oda briefly wondered how long she had been a free woman, though she left the question unvoiced when she greeted Margrethe, instead offering her a warm smile and a tight embrace. "Ah, Margrethe, I have missed you so much! We have so much to catch up on."

"Yes, we do," She murmured, smiling hesitantly. "I missed you too."

"Hah, of course you have!" Oda snickered, before looping her arm with Margrethe's and dragging her off into the crowd, snatching up a lone cup along the way to give to her. "Now, tell me about your husband-to-be - a son of Ragnar!"

Margrethe's cheeks flared red, her eyes darting to and fro before they met with Oda's. "Yes, Ubbe..."

"'Ubbe'..." Oda prompted, brows raised in anticipation, but the blonde merely parted her lips as she considered her words. Oda's expression mimicked Margrethe's, and her head tilted slowly before a devious grin curled Oda's lips up in realization, a giggle of delighted disbelief escaping her. "Oh, _Margrethe_... You mean there is more than just one? More than one son of Ragnar that you..?"

"I..." Margrethe paused, her eyes tearing away from her sister to the figure before them, and her lashes fluttered in quick succession as she blinked before greeting the man. "Hvitserk."

It was clear to Oda the moment that her sister laid eyes on him that there was more than one Ragnarsson that Margrethe loved. She could not hold back the gleeful snicker, but Oda simply smiled politely when the man's attention turned her. "So you are Hvitserk Ragnarsson."

"And you are the mysterious Oda."

"Ah, so I am mysterious?" She questions, and the young prince grins wolfishly as he steps closer. Oda's eyes twitch to Margrethe, catches sight of the way her arms curl around her middle as she tears her eyes away from him, and Oda knows immediately not to toy with her sister's emotions. 

"Well, Margrethe has never spoken of you before, and so it is a mystery as to why she has kept such a beautiful shieldmaiden a secret."

"I suppose that it could be because Margrethe and I are very different. She might not mind being shared, but I am very _possessive_." Hvitserk blinked in shock, unprepared for his flirtations to fail so incredibly. "I do not  _share_. Now, my cup is empty, I am going to find myself more mead." 

Placing a soft kiss to her sister's cheek, Oda pulls away, pinning Hvitserk with a blank stare before disappearing into the crowd, leaving Margrethe to offer him a timid apology on Oda's behalf.


End file.
